Cortassa withdraws from Olympics

by ITU Admin on 15 Aug, 2008 12:00

Italian Nadia Cortassa will not compete in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games after withdrawing with an injury. This year’s European Championships silver medalist was involved in a bike accident on July 6 and suffered a trochanteric hip fracture. She had hoped to compete in Beijing but was not able to recover in time.

Cortassa has been replaced on the start list by compatriot Daniela Chmet. Because Italy qualified two women through ITU’s Olympic qualification and the Italian National Olympic Committee accepted both spots, it was able to keep Cortassa’s spot and name Chmet to the team.

A veteran of the ITU circuit, Cortassa is a 4-time medalist at the European Championships, including earlier this year in Lisbon, Portugal. She finished 5th at the Athens Olympic Games. Prior to taking up triathlon, Cortassa competed in modern pentathlon.